Rice inaugurates DesRoches as 8th president
Rice University inaugurated its eighth president, Reginald DesRoches, in a historic celebration Saturday, marking a new era of leadership and diversity for the 110-year-old institution.
DesRoches, an engineer who is also the university’s first Black and foreign-born president, assumed the post in July but marked the start of his tenure at Saturday’s investiture ceremony, where he pledged to continue the major growth that has transformed Rice over the past two decades and solidified its place among top-tier American schools.
Rice’s continued success will be defined by three values: curiosity, excellence and courage, DesRoches told the crowd.
“Rice University is at an inflection point,” DesRoches said. “As we move forward, we must value and commit to the courage of our convictions. The courage to grow and the courage to evolve. The courage to explore new territories and to take risks. The courage to stand up for what is right and just. And the courage to make hard decisions that may not be popular or easy but are necessary to realize our ambitions.”
Representatives from around 150 universities and educational societies joined Rice’s board of trustees, faculty, staff and students for the ceremony in the Academic Quadrangle, one of the oldest and most storied parts of campus. University leaders there presented DesRoches with a university robe and a presidential medal, two symbols of his new office.
The quadrangle has become known lately for its central statue of founder William Marsh Rice, and speakers overlooked the effigy on Saturday. The irony — and even
more, the significance — of DesRoches’ presidency cannot be overlooked, said Ruth Simmons, president of Prairie View A&M University and a former Rice trustee.
Rice, a slaveholder, specifically endowed the university as an institution for whites only, which held until Rice admitted its first Black student in the mid-1960s. (The university is still working out plans to move the statue to a different, less visible part of the quadrangle.)
But if Rice was a man of his times, DesRoches is also a man of the present moment, Simmons said.
“What does it mean to have a president of Reginald’s race and background assume responsibility for carrying on the legacy of William Marsh Rice’s vision?” she said. “I think it means everything. First, his appointment proves once again that whatever the limitations of our vision in our time, future generations can never be permanently bound by them.”
Student Association President Gabrielle Franklin said she views DesRoches as a champion of equity and hopes he will continue that work.
DesRoches was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and raised in Queens, N.Y., by parents who worked multiple jobs. He pursued a degree in mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, where he also received his master’s and doctorate degrees.
A nationally recognized expert on earthquake resilience, DesRoches taught at the Georgia Institute of Technology for about 18 years before arriving at Rice in 2017 as its dean of engineering. He became university provost in 2019.
Board of Trustees Chairman Rob Ladd said that in searching for a new president, he was looking for someone who had vision, ambition, integrity and intellect. DesRoches showed that as engineering dean, where he increased the size and visibility of his programs, Ladd said.
And as provost, DesRoches amplified the school’s research efforts, prioritized faculty and student diversity and helped lead the university through the pandemic, he added.
DesRoches succeeds David Leebron, who stepped down after 18 years in the presidency.
DesRoches on Saturday shared some of what’s to come. He said he sees room to increase Rice’s visibility as a premier research institution focused on diversity, equity and inclusion — as well as room to make Rice’s graduate programs as recognized as its undergraduate programs. The bachelors programs could see some changes as well, with a reimagined general education curriculum, new majors and minors, and new global partnerships for study abroad.
He also said he would commit to faculty research, especially in areas that are suited to Rice’s location in Houston — including medicine, clean energy and urban studies. DesRoches said he plans to hire more than 200 faculty in the next five years, and continue growing campus infrastructure.
“As president, I have been given the opportunity to build a stronger university starting with the firm foundation Rice has today,” DesRoches said. “Presidents, like engineers, do not do their work alone. I will need the help of all of you — your ideas, your support, your hard work and your dedication as we build a better university that helps build a better world.”